US Imposing Sanctions On AO Kaspersky Lab Executives Due To Cyber Risk

Deputy US Treasury Minister Brian Nelson (photo: x @US2SOMALIA)

JAKARTA - President Joe Biden's administration imposed sanctions on 12 people in the senior leadership role at the AO Kaspersky Lab on Friday, June 21 citing cybersecurity risks. This was announced a day after the US government announced plans to ban the sale of antiviral software from the Russian company.

The sanctions target company leaders, including heads of business development, heads of operations, legal officials, heads of corporate communications, and others.

"Today's action against Kaspersky Lab's leadership affirms our commitment to ensuring the integrity of our cyber domain and protecting our citizens from dangerous cyber threats," Deputy Finance Minister Brian Nelson said in a statement.

A Kaspersky spokesperson described the move as "baseless and unfair." He also said that this would not affect the company's "resilience" for not targeting its parent company or subsidiary or CEO, Eugene Kaspersky.

The company denies any ties to any government or links between appointed officials and Russian military or intelligence authorities.

These measures show that the Biden administration is trying to eliminate the risk of Russian cyberattacks originating from Kaspersky software and continues to pressure Moscow because its war efforts in Ukraine have gained momentum and the United States is running out of sanctions that could be imposed on Russia.

AO Kaspersky is one of two Russian units from Kaspersky Lab placed on a list of Commercial trade restrictions on Thursday for allegedly working with Russian military intelligence to support Moscow's cyber intelligence goals.

The move was accompanied by a ban on sales, resales, and software updates to Kaspersky products in the United States starting September 29.

US authorities say the software poses a serious risk, citing Russia's influence on the company, a dedicated software access to computer systems that could allow the theft of sensitive information from American computers, and its ability to install malware and contain critical updates.

Appointments announced on Friday prohibit American companies or citizens from trading or conducting financial transactions with sanctioned executives and freezing assets in the United States.